


...and bright

by breatherepeat



Category: Bastille (Band)
Genre: Christmas, Love, M/M, Resonate verse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-20
Updated: 2020-12-24
Packaged: 2021-03-11 00:01:27
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,001
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28195854
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/breatherepeat/pseuds/breatherepeat
Summary: Resonate Update for the Christmas season.
Relationships: Kyle Simmons/Dan Smith
Comments: 16
Kudos: 28





	1. Chapter 1

Dan was coming back in from the shops when he heard music blasting through the sound system of the studio. 

Living with Kyle meant that the music was always going to be louder, but Dan had not heard it this loud since before Kyle got his new hearing aids. 

Setting down the bags near the kitchen area, Dan told himself he could put them away later. He needed to investigate why Kyle thought the music needed to be so loud. 

Walking up the stairs, Dan had to pause at the sight that greeted him as their bedroom came into view. 

For one, Christmas literally exploded into every surface of their room. There were lights and ribbons and bows. There were tiny trees covered with fake snow and various woodland creatures with scarves and mittens scattered about. The photo frames were wrapped in Christmas paper and hung back in their original place. There was an inflatable santa and reindeer being blown up by the window. 

But, for two, Kyle was not only singing at the top of his lungs, he was also dancing as he decorated. To Kelly Clarkson of all artists. 

_Presents, what a beautiful sight  
Don't mean a thing if you ain't holding me tight  
You're all that I need  
Underneath the tree_

Kyle was attempting the high parts of the song and Dan had to bite the back of his wrist. The biting was two fold, one to stop him from freaking out at the amount of glitter they were surely always going to have in their room now and two at how cute Kyle’s hips were when he did a little shimmy thing to the beat. 

Dan stood there staring long enough that Kyle moved onto the pre-chorus and really attempted the high note. And turned to find himself being watched. 

Kyle, not missing a beat, continued to sing and shimmy his way to Dan with his hand held out waiting to be taken. 

_You're here where you should be  
Snow is falling as the carolers sing  
It just wasn't the same  
Alone on Christmas day_

Dan’s heart literally melted. 

Being with Kyle this year had been the saving grace for his sanity and wellbeing. The world was literally going to shit everywhere and yet Dan had found love. 

It completely made sense with Dan’s life so he didn’t question it. 

In the beginning months, Dan’s heart had melted each time he saw Kyle. Each time he thought about him even. 

As their relationship grew and became more a part of Dan’s everyday life, these moments became less. Moments where Dan’s breath was caught in his chest and he felt his heart beating a bit erratic from the mere presence of Kyle near him. 

_Presents, what a beautiful sight  
Don't mean a thing if you ain't holding me tight  
You're all that I need  
Underneath the tree_

Kyle signed the “you’re all I need” bit before taking Dan’s hand fully and pulling him in close to dance with him. 

It was an upbeat song, and quite loud given their sound system being set at Kyle’s pre-hearing aid upgrade, but Dan closed his eyes and rested his head on Kyle’s shoulder while Kyle shouted the lyrics and shimmied their bodies together. 

There was no place Dan would rather be than right was he was at then. 

Well, maybe doing this in his family home with Kyle next to him. Awkwardly meeting his parents and extended family for the first time in person. Dan’s nephews running around and making chaos as his mum frets about what everyone is drinking. 

And knowing that Dan was going to have the same awkwardness when he meets Kyle’s extended family for the first time in person the next day. Food everywhere and laughter filling the silence. 

But, this year Christmas needed to be different. Grand first meetings with the family were postponed until next year. After a vaccine and numbers lowering. After the collective grief of 2020 was more of a memory rather than a lived experience. 

Kyle’s voice lowered to his normal range and he sang the next bit near Dan’s ear. 

_I found what I was looking for  
A love that's meant for me  
A heart that's mine completely  
Knocked me right off my feet  
And this year I will fall  
With no worries at all_

Fuck, Dan had no idea what the hell he did to deserve Kyle. But, Kyle was his and loved him as much as Dan loved him. 

Dan never knew he could be so happy. Never knew it was even such a thing that people could feel. 

Dan thought he knew love before Kyle but that wasn’t love. It was likely mutual like and maybe a bit of obligation to the other person. Obligation that ended in bitterness and despair. 

This was love. 

_And then one day everything changed  
You're all I need  
Underneath the tree, yeah_

Kyle attempted the high note again and Dan winced as his ear couldn’t take the loudness anymore. 

Pushing Kyle away mid-shimmy, Dan gave him a smile that made his face hurt and signed he needed the volume down. 

Kyle bounced away, still signing, to his mobile and turned the system down through the app. Down enough that Kelly was still blaring out her amazing voice but Dan would think his thoughts again. 

“Welcome back my love, do you like what I did with the place?” Kyle beamed on his way back to Dan. He stopped so he was close enough to see Dan’s face. “If you say no, then you can go sleep with your mates.” 

“Funny.” Dan raised both his hands to rest on Kyle’s sides, wanting to touch him. They had been alternating between Dan’s flat and the studio for the past few months. The studio was great for privacy but it did not have all the comforts of a proper living space.

“Seriously though, is it too much?” Kyle’s torso turned in Dan’s hands as Kyle looked around the room. Kyle’s face was lit up bright between the joy on his face and the lights in the room. “Did I mention that I fucking love Christmas?” 

“I believe you had mentioned it.” Dan laughed and knew that Kyle did not hear his words. Kyle had his hearing aids on but he was not looking at Dan. With the music in the background, Kyle would not pick up exactly what Dan had said. 

Waiting for Kyle to turn back to face him, instead of answering him, Dan kissed him. 

Kyle had given Dan a “good-bye” kiss before he left for the shops a few hours ago but it felt like too long. 

As the song switched to Bon Jovi, Kyle’s hands moved to remove the jacket Dan had put on to brace the weather outside. 

_I'll have a blue Christmas without you  
I'll be so blue thinking about you  
Decorations of red on a green Christmas tree  
Won't be the same here if you're not here with me  
And when those blue snowflakes start falling  
Is when those blue memories start calling  
Then you'll be doing all right with your Christmas of white _

After the jacket was tossed aside, Kyle’s warm hands worked their way up under Dan’s top and Dan was pulled close to him. 

This did this all the time now, get lost in the feel of one another, but each time was always the best time. 

Kyle’s strong hands moved almost up to Dan’s shoulders before Dan’s brain functioned enough to start pulling Kyle’s top off. Which, given he had Kyle’s tongue in his mouth, was an accomplishment because Dan’s brain was occupied. 

Dan’s hands were lazily working on undoing Kyle’s jeans when Dan was pushed away with gentle hands. 

“Wait.” Kyle said breathlessly as he looked around the room as Andrea Bocelli’s tenor voice started _O Holy Night_. 

_O holy night, the stars are brightly shining_

Dan crossed his arms over his bare stomach and waited for Kyle to come back to him. He appeared to be looking for something among the clutter of the boxes and bins that had once held Christmas decorations. 

_For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn  
Fall on your knees ___

__Dan’s brain went to how Bocelli’s beautiful voice was singing about a savior that came to save the world and Dan’s personal savior was digging through clutter without a top on._ _

__Kyle was his savior in many ways. Many, many ways._ _

__Growing impatient, Dan walked to where Kyle was and hugged him from behind. Whatever Kyle was searching for could wait because Dan needed to feel him close to him._ _

__Kyle’s hand rested on Dan’s forearm on Kyle’s bare stomach as he rested his head back to lean onto the side of Dan’s head. Bocelli’s haunting voice still in the background holding the last note with expertise Dan only wished he possessed._ _

_O night, O holy night O night Divine!_

__Another softer song started and Dan turned Kyle around to face him again. “What are you searching for?”_ _

__“I found something and I wanted to use it.” Kyle’s face broke into a smile and he raised his hands to hold Dan’s jaw. “I wanted to do something.”_ _

__“I wanted to do something as well and then you left me standing naked.” Dan smiled back and rose up on his toes to kiss Kyle’s nose. As he settled back down on his feet, Dan rested his hands on Kyle’s lower back and waited for more explanation. “And vague much?”_ _

__“Shut it.” Kyle blushed and looked down as he stepped in closer to Dan. Kyle’s hands moved from his jaw down Dan’s back and rested on Dan’s lower back as well. “It was perfect for our wedding and now I cannot find it.”_ _

__“Oh.” Dan felt himself blushing but he didn’t need to look away. A few months ago, Dan would almost be forced to look away but now he was more comfortable with Kyle._ _

__Within the past few weeks, Kyle had become obsessed with planning their wedding. It was no longer an idea, Kyle said, it was a fact that they needed to plan for to make it right._ _

__Dan knew it likely had to do with Kyle’s last marriage ending in disaster and Kyle wanting to right those wrongs._ _

__And, the collective grief of the year was taking a toll on everyone as they realized that this holiday season was not going to be the same as years past. That the virus was going to take even more traditions away from them._ _

__Dan knew he would miss being with his family on Christmas and that Zoom chats were not the same as being able to hug his loved ones close, but he was forever grateful that he had Kyle to hug close on Christmas day._ _

__As for their wedding, Dan knew that needed to be ages away and he was letting Kyle take the lead on the planning aspects of it._ _

__All Dan needed to know was that he was invited. Whatever else happened on that day, it was still going to be the best day of his life._ _

__Kyle’s eyes were holding onto his own and Dan had an idea. Maybe a bit of foolishness but an idea._ _

__“Kyle?” Dan asked as his fingers brushed along the soft skin on Kyle’s back. Dan kept his face serious to show Kyle he was not joking. “Will you marry me?”_ _

__Kyle looked confused for three seconds and then it hit him what Dan was asking. That was another thing Dan had noticed about them; they were beginning to think alike and instantly understand what the other was talking about without a long explanation._ _

__“But, the thing?” Kyle smiled and Dan felt Kyle’s hands moving up his back again. “I cannot find the thing that is going to make it perfect.”_ _

__“I guess it won’t be perfect then.” Dan smiled back and kissed Kyle’s lips briefly before staring back into his eyes._ _

__It was silly and wouldn’t mean anything legally, but he wanted to share vows with Kyle with the bright lights of the holiday season on them and Christmas music playing in the background._ _

__“You are perfect for me.” Kyle smiled slightly down at him and Dan felt himself tear up a bit._ _

__Dan was not the one that would be so emotional about things like this, but fuck if Kyle wasn’t perfect for him. And to know that Kyle felt the same way meant the world to him._ _

__“Will you take me as your husband?” Dan raised up on his toes and kissed him again without waiting for a response. Kyle instantly deepened the kiss and Dan surrendered himself to the feel of Kyle all around him._ _

__More clothing was removed and they found their way to the bed. After pushing off a box that left a cloud of glitter in its wake, Kyle followed Dan onto the bed and rested on top of him._ _

__Resting his weight on his elbow, Kyle smiled down to him and used his left hand to brush his fingers through Dan’s hair. Dan would return the favour but Kyle’s long hair was pulled up tight on top of his head. Kyle had listened to Dan and allowed his hair to grow longer._ _

__Dan opened up his legs and allowed Kyle to settle onto him more before saying, “You need to answer me.”_ _

__“I take you as my husband. As my love. As my eternal partner.” Kyle’s tone was serious yet soft and Dan fell even more in love with him. There was glitter in the air and on Kyle's face making him seem ever more like an divine angel._ _

__Maybe he was wrong to think that the wedding was not that important to obsess over. Maybe their wedding was going to tie Kyle to him permanently._ _

__Like the engagement ring on his finger that grounded him during the most chaotic of thoughts. Kyle being legally tied to him could ground him even more in the chaotic world._ _

__Dan moved his hands off Kyle’s bum and signed the words back to Kyle._ _

__With a smile, Kyle leaned down and kissed him in response._ _

__Soon skin was moving against skin as the light bounced off the glitter in the air and both were making sounds to add to the Christmas music playing in the background._ _

__Both content to know they were permanently bound to one another._ _


	2. Chapter 2

Ever so gently, Kyle moved Dan’s head from his chest and onto the pillow. Then he slowly worked his way out of the bed as to not disturb Dan. Dan, unlike Kyle, was a light sleeper and Kyle did not want to wake him. 

Kyle had taken off his hearing aids and turned off the Christmas playlist earlier before closing his eyes and falling asleep with Dan. The fairy lights remained on because he did not have them controlled through his mobile. 

There was literally glitter everywhere and Kyle had to shake it off his pants before putting them back on. 

After he had on his pants, now a sparkly green rather than the plain green colour he had put on this morning, Kyle went about turning off some of the lights in the room. 

Kyle knew he had went overboard, but fuck it, it was the Christmas season. And the end of an incredibly stressful year. 

But, for how stressful and heartbreaking the year had been, it was the year he met Dan so it would ever hold a special plan in his heart. 

A heart that thought it was done with love. 

A heart that thought it needed to protect itself from love. 

But then Dan ran into him and everything changed. 

It was scary, but this whole year had been scary. 

They had a few bumps along the way. Both needing to work through layers and layers of protection from their last previous relationship. They technically broke it off for a few hours before their engagement. 

Kyle smiled as he walked down the stairs as he twirled the ring on his finger. It was a habit he had picked up from watching Dan. 

For about a week, Kyle had been seriously concerned that Dan was more in love with his ring than Kyle himself. But that was silly because the only reason Dan loved the ring was because Kyle had given it to him. 

The only regret Kyle had about their engagement was the way it came about. 

Dan finding the ring on the bed had not been his plan. 

Kyle was a romantic and wanted the whole grant spectacle of getting down on his knee and asking for Dan’s hand in marriage. Saying something sweet from his heart and making Dan cry. 

Dan had gotten his grant spectacle with his proposal to Kyle and there was a very small part of Kyle that resented that Dan got to have the special moment and not him. 

But, then Kyle realized he was being foolish because Dan had his ring on his finger. Dan was going to marry him. It didn’t matter how the ring got on Dan's finger, just as long as it stayed there. 

Shaking his head, Kyle found the bags from the shops and went about putting the contents away. Thankfully, there was nothing that needed to be refrigerated. Or worse, nothing that had been frozen. 

Kyle had found that Dan could be very absentminded. It was endearing more than annoying. At least it was now. He might have something else to say in a few years time, but for now it was another thing he found cute. 

After the items were in their respective places, Kyle made his way to the music room and turned on a few soft lights. Sitting at the table, Kyle opened up his notebook and picked up the pen to jot down his idea. 

The notebook held all his musing about the wedding and holiday to follow it. 

Kyle felt a bit strange planning another wedding. Mostly because he planned to invite many of the same people that had been at his last wedding. 

People that had witnessed him vowing his love to a man that was no longer his husband. 

Most of the people that had been at the last wedding knew why Kyle had to break those vows, but it still felt wrong to ask them to trust him again with another wedding. 

It comforted Kyle greatly to know that Dan insisted on no wedding gifts. In lieu of wedding gifts, Dan had suggested a donation in their name to a charity of the person’s choosing. Especially after the year everyone had been through, charities needed help more than ever. 

Kyle loved that about Dan. 

Dan realized that having money meant you had responsibility. 

Dan was not in the business to make money, but he realized the power that came with having large amounts of money in a bank account. 

Dan had yet to share with Kyle what the number was, but Kyle had accidentally seen more than a few receipts from donations made throughout the year from the account. 

Large sums of money were being spread about to people that needed it more than ever. 

Sums that Kyle had never had in his own bank account. 

In fact, after Kyle’s ex-husband used up all his money in legal fees, Kyle had not had a positive balance that stayed in his account for some time. As soon as the money came in, it was sent back out to bills and living expenses. 

At least not until recently, with deposits being made into his account from the work they had been doing. 

Kyle still could not believe that he was getting paid to do something he loved. 

Clearing his head from the surreal feeling of his current life, Kyle wrote down a few more notes about ideas for their holiday. 

Apparently the wedding and the holiday might have to be at separate times if the band’s schedule started to fill up again. 

Dan had even mentioned that all planning would have to go through their management if the world rightened itself and people were allowed to gather safely again. 

That had not even been a thought and it made Kyle realize how much of a big deal being in the band would be in a typical year. Kyle’s schedule would not be his own. 

But, he would be with Dan and he would be making music so it was worth it. Well, as long as Dan and he would be able to be married. 

Closing the notebook, Kyle turned off the lights as he made his way back up to the room. 

Dan was still asleep and the inflatables were still going strong near the window. 

Kyle had to laugh at the sight of the inflatables in the room. Kyle had seen them at a shop and wanted them. He has always wanted them in the past but never thought to buy them, or rather yet, never thought he had the extra money to buy them. 

He knew the air moving through them made sound but without his hearing aids they were only waving back and forth. Father Christmas steering his eight tiny reindeer from his sleigh. Maybe the air sounds were helping Dan remain asleep in his absence. 

Another thing Kyle had learned about Dan. Dan was a terrible sleeper. Dan had confessed that sleeping with Kyle had helped with his insomnia, but that made Kyle more concerned than not. If Dan was sleeping this terrible with Kyle in bed with him, Kyle could only imagine how he slept without him. 

Sliding back under the covers and curling his body into the warmth radiating off Dan, Kyle smiled at the man in front of him. 

There were still enough fairy lights in the room to make the glitter on Dan’s face and hair shine in the dim light.

Kyle’s angel, shining bright in the soft lights around them. 

Kyle knew Dan was letting out faint breathing sounds because his mouth was slightly open. Sounds that would be soothing to his ears and help him sleep if he had his hearing aids in. 

But Kyle did not want to sleep. At least not yet. 

Lightly tracing Dan’s hairline with the tip of his index finger, Kyle smiled as Dan appeared to sigh at the touch. 

Kyle’s heart was so full because of Dan. He could stay up all night and stare at him. 

Waiting for the moment that Dan would open his eyes and smile back at him. 

How Dan would cuddle in close to him and say something sweet that Kyle would read on his lips. 

And then how Dan’s brain would remember the shopping bags near the small kitchen area and attempt to rush out of bed to put them away. 

But, Kyle would take his arm and pull him back in close, saying Kyle had taken care of it already. 

That Kyle wanted Dan to stay near him and look at the lights with him. 

Dan would let out a warm breath near him and say the lights were beautiful. 

And Kyle would say that Dan was beautiful. 

Dan would blush and push Kyle’s chest but secretly love the attention. 

And Kyle would add that he loved how merry and bright Dan’s eyes were in the room. 

Which would make Dan’s cheeks turn even redder but he would keep his eyes on him. 

Kyle would sign the vows to Dan and Dan would sign them back. 

Their proper wedding would merely be a formality for Dan and he would already be married in their hearts. 

But, all that was for later. 

For now, Kyle would watch Dan sleep and remind himself of how blessed he was to find true love. 

He would brush his hand through Dan’s hair and re-memorize everything about his face. 

In their merry and bright world of their own.

**Author's Note:**

> Happy holidays to all that celebrate! 
> 
> I wish you all health and love in the new year. 
> 
> Songs: Underneath the Tree by Kelly Clarkson, Blue Christmas by Bon Jovi, and O Holy Night by Andrea Bocelli.


End file.
